our services
Dirty panels lose output. A careful, streak-free clean gets that output back without putting the array at risk.
The Algarve is close to ideal for solar, and close to ideal for coating panels in exactly the sort of film that stops them working properly. Red dust settles and sets. Pollen sticks to it in spring. Sea air adds a haze. Where irrigation reaches the array, hard water dries into the same mineral spotting you get on the windows. Because the loss is gradual and the panels are usually out of sight, most owners never notice it happening.
Panels are also easy to damage and expensive to replace. High pressure, harsh chemicals, abrasive pads and standing on the array are all bad ideas, and all of them are things that get done to panels by people in a hurry. Cleaning them properly is a careful job, not a fast one.
how we do it
How many panels, what the pitch is, how they are mounted and how we can reach them safely. We also look at what is soiling them, because dust, pollen and mineral spotting are not the same problem.
Panels get cleaned with water and the appropriate soft brush. No aggressive chemicals, no abrasives, nothing that risks the glass, the coating or the seals around the frames.
Panels are not designed to be walked on and microcracks caused by standing on them are invisible and permanent. We work from the ground or from proper access, and if neither is possible on your property we will say so.
Streaks and dried-on residue shade the cells, which rather undermines the point of cleaning them. The rinse matters as much as the wash.
It is the panels furthest from the edge that get missed, and a partly shaded string can drag on the rest. We check across the whole array.
Cabling that has come loose, a cracked panel, mounting that looks unhappy, or debris packed under the array. You will hear about it with a photo so you can pass it to your installer.
what is included
If your panels are dirty, cleaning them will recover the output that the dirt was costing you. How much that is depends entirely on how soiled they were, the pitch of the array and how long it has been, so anyone quoting you a firm percentage before looking at your roof is guessing.
What cleaning cannot do is fix a fault. If output does not recover after a clean, the problem is electrical or with the panels themselves, and that is a job for your installer rather than for us. We will tell you what we saw and leave the diagnosis to the people qualified to make it.
how we keep the standard
Every job is checked against the standard for that surface before the van moves, by someone who did not do the cleaning. If it is not right we put it right before you have to ask.
We look at the property, then give you a price. What we agree at the survey is what you pay, with no extras invented once we are on site.
A fixed arrival window rather than a vague all-day wait, and a call afterwards to check you are happy. Not a sales call.
where we work
We cover Quinta do Lago · Vale do Lobo · Vilamoura · Almancil · Loulé · Quarteira, and the surrounding area. If you are just outside it, ask anyway and we will tell you honestly whether we can look after you properly.
questions
Enough to be worth cleaning, and less than some people will tell you on the doorstep. It varies with how heavy the soiling is, the angle of the array and how long since the last clean, so we will not quote you a percentage we cannot stand behind. What we can say is that Algarve dust and pollen build up faster here than the brochures assume.
Once or twice a year suits most properties. More often if you are near open ground that generates dust, under pines, or if irrigation is reaching the array and leaving mineral spots.
Nothing harsh. Panels are cleaned with water and a soft brush appropriate to the surface. Aggressive cleaners can attack the coating and the seals, which is a far more expensive problem than the dirt was.
We will talk this through at the survey and follow whatever guidance your installer has given you for your specific system. If you are not sure, tell us and we will work around it safely.
Usually yes, and it often makes sense because both involve the same access. They are quoted as separate work because the methods are different, but we will put one price on the visit.
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